In this episode of the Prime Venture Partners Podcast, we speak with Sushant Junnarkar, who shares his raw and honest journey of building and eventually shutting down an early-stage startup.

Sushant takes us through the complete entrepreneurial roller coaster from early traction and funding to competition, pivots, and the tough decision to shut down.

In conversation with Sanjay Swamy, he shares insights on:

• The 3 phases of a startup journey

• Why startups fail beyond just lack of capital

• The funding vs scale dilemma

• Founder challenges and decision-making under pressure

• Key lessons for early-stage entrepreneurs

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

01:08 - Meet Sushant Junnarkar & The Book

02:02 - Sushant’s Background & Career Journey

03:11 - The Online Grocery Startup Idea

04:16 - Breaking Down the Startup Phases

05:46 - Phase 1: Idea, Research & Strategy

09:38 - First Orders & Early Traction

12:35 - Early Growth & Press Coverage

14:34 - Competition Enters the Market

16:22 - Tech Challenges & Moving Beyond Jugaad

17:23 - Phase 3: Funding Challenges Begin

18:30 - Last Attempts to Save the Startup

20:45 - When Founder Motivation Declines

23:06 - Who Should Read It

27:42 - Key Advice: Passion & Product-Market Fit

30:31 - Why Startups Fail: Execution

34:10 - Capital, Competition & Strategy

36:10 - Final Lessons on Entrepreneurship

38:22 - Closing Thoughts

This is a must- watch episode for anyone building or aspiring to build a startup.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe to the Prime Venture Partners Podcast for more real founder stories and insights from India’s startup ecosystem!

#Startups #Entrepreneurship #FounderJourney #VentureCapital #StartupLessons #Podcast #PrimeVenturePartners

In this episode, the founders of Basil share how they spotted an opportunity in India’s school essentials space and built a design-led brand trusted by over 1.5 lakh families.

After careers at Uber and Amazon, they set out to solve a simple but overlooked problem. Kids' essentials did not have to be boring, low-quality, or purely functional.

We discuss

• Identifying whitespace in consumer categories

• Designing for both children and parents

• Marketplace-led growth

• Building operational depth in hardware

• Lessons for founders building in D2C

This is a must-watch episode for entrepreneurs, founders, and anyone building consumer brands.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction

02:00 – Founders’ Backgrounds

03:00 – Inspiration Behind Basil

04:20 – Explaining Basil to Kids

06:00 – Why Start a Startup

07:00 – Early Product Challenges

08:30 – Market Response & Pricing Insights

11:40 – Design-First Philosophy

13:00 – Manufacturing & Scaling

19:57 – Who Really Buys: Kids vs Parents

22:56 – Designing Products for Children

25:10 – Smart Product Design for Organic Growth

31:05 – Building a Brand That Can’t Be Copied

35:09 – Power of User Observation

40:13 – Amazon-Inspired Processes

45:21 – India’s ₹60,000 Crore Kids Market

45:23 – Building Consumer Love

51:28 – Closing Thoughts

📺 Listen to the full conversation and subscribe to the podcast.

#Basil #D2C #ConsumerBrands #BrandBuilding #Entrepreneurship #Startups #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast

In this episode of the Prime Venture Partners Podcast, we speak with Victor, the Co-founder and CEO of Propelld, a company that has revolutionised education financing in India.

Victor takes us through the highs and lows of his entrepreneurial journey, from starting his first startup in 2014 to building one of India’s largest education financing platforms. Propelld has already disbursed ₹4,000 crores in loans, helping over 400,000 students achieve their educational dreams.

He shares insights on:

1. The genesis of Propelld and its mission to make education financing accessible to all
2. How they manage risk in education financing through data-driven solutions
3. The role of AI in underwriting and loan collection
4. Advice for early-stage founders on fundraising and navigating the journey of entrepreneurship

This is a must-watch episode for aspiring entrepreneurs and those interested in the future of education financing.

👉 Don't forget to subscribe to the Prime Venture Partners Podcast for more founder stories, insights, and behind-the-scenes playbooks from India’s most exciting startups!

#Startups #EducationFinancing #Entrepreneurship #AI #RiskManagement #Podcast #Fundraising #PrimeVenturePartners